The Art of Uplifting

So many things to celebrate as I wrap up one chapter and leap ecstatically into the next! While initiating this collection of thoughts and creations has been {a much bigger inner dialogue than it needs to be or appears to be}, I could not feel more confident that I am exactly in the place I am supposed to be in life, down to the very minute.

Over the past year, I have been immensely blown away by the power of stepping into opportunities that present themselves to you and allowing people to create those opportunities for you. I rarely feel deserving of those moments and typically my first reaction is to internalize an overwhelming amount fear that I won't live up to someone's expectations. That my skills won't be at the level they want them to be, that I'll embarrass myself while exposing some level of incompetence, that my style or process will be imperfect, and the list goes on.

But as I've been experiencing a lot in the past couple of months especially, we are NEVER 100% ready {just as I have never felt "ready" about starting a "blog"}. Regardless, it means everything for us in that moment of fear to instead choose to step up and lean in because those moments are where we learn the most about ourselves and what we're capable of.

For instance, after a recent 18+ hour work day that pushed me to every possible physical and mental limit and falling on the stairs at the end of that day and taking the moment to feel every emotion, I stood in front of the mirror with some tears and was able to realize that moment as a gift. I couldn't help but laugh out loud at how ridiculous I looked, disheveled and dissolved, and then what immediately followed was something I certainly didn't expect in the middle of a tantrum. I felt SO empowered because I chose in that moment to pick myself up, figure it out, and use that exhausting day as a tool to pull out of my pocket for any future challenging moments. I probably felt way too excited about my tears and temporary struggle - something I have been geeking out about lately - any opportunity to learn and grow and turn a negative into a positive is FREAKING RAD!

Which I guess therefore leads me to finally explain my decision for umbrella-ing my experiences, creative endeavors, human interactions & beyond under the title "The Art of Uplifting." I strongly believe our ability to choose joy in every situation, is the most important power we possess as thoughtful and present human beings. It is pretty much the only thing we do have complete control over, and while dealing with some of my personal struggles the past several years {which I plan on expressing and expanding upon on this platform soon - once again, never 100% ready}, it is crystal clear to me that if I'm not "choosing joy" it's not going to just magically manifest itself in my life. Of course this may be obvious to most of you, but it has been a serious process for me, and one that I am proud of how much progress I've made, the opportunities I have been given because of it, and most importantly the amount and improved quality of connections I've been able to grow with people I love and care about deeply.

"SEVENKIND" may be taking another detour on this speedy and winding road, but I believe I am finally "ready" to put the car in cruise control for a while, and settle into some dreams I have been working towards accepting as a reality {but seriously, too many big dreams have come true just in the past few weeks that it has been hard to even keep up with so give me a second to process and then I plan to fully fill you in!} "The Art of Uplifting" blog will be my personal/public outlet to share some life updates, creative projects, recipes, & more, as well as introducing you to some amazing humans I know and love because I am insanely proud of the community I am a product of and don't think we can truly grow within ourselves without the perspective of someone else's experience.

So, cheers! And feeling major, major gratitude for the amount of love I have felt for continuing to stick to this path of creative expression and special thanks to those of you who are still reading... I know reading anything more than just a "caption" on a photo is bit of a commitment these days and in my insane schedule lately I am fully aware of how valuable our time is, so I thank you dearly for taking an interest in this particular interpretation of the human process. Always looking for any opportunity to celebrate genuine uplifting experiences!